6.  The applicant was born in 1926 and lives in Belgrade.
7.  The general pension system of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (hereinafter “the SFRY”) was set up on the principle of territoriality. This meant that each federal entity, namely the six republics (Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro) and two autonomous provinces (Vojvodina and Kosovo), had their own pension funds, which were independent of federal government and were responsible for the collection of contributions and the payment of pensions to all individuals who had been working on the territory of the respective republic or province. The pension system was based on the “pay-as-you-go” model and the principle of inter-generational solidarity, which was essentially based on the payment of mandatory contributions during the years of employment and then receiving the pension by instalments once retired.
8.  The military pension system differed, in that it was centralised at the federal level. On 1 January 1973 under, at the relevant time, the Military Personnel Pension and Invalidity Insurance Act (Zakon o mirovinskom i invalidskom osiguranju vojnih obveznika) a federal pension fund was established for employees of the Yugoslav People’s Army (hereinafter “the YPA”) with its registered headquarters in Belgrade. Contributions to this fund were paid from the federal budget, and the fund then paid pensions to military pensioners, irrespective of the location of their military service or where they lived once retired.
9.  On 25 June 1991 the Croatian Parliament (Sabor Republike Hrvatske) declared Croatia independent of Yugoslavia, and on 8 October 1991 all relations between Croatia and the SFRY federal Government were dissolved. The SFRY Military Personnel Pension and Invalidity Insurance Act was incorporated into the Croatian legal system by the Military Personnel Federal Pension, Invalidity Insurance and Child Support Legislation (Acceptance in the Republic of Croatia as Republic Law) Act (Zakon o preuzimanju saveznih zakona iz oblasti mirovinskog i invalidskog osiguranja i doplatka za djecu vojnih osiguranika koji se u Republici Hrvatskoj primjenjuju kao republički zakoni), enacted by the Parliament on 26 June 1991.
10.  On 23 July 1992 the Government of Croatia enacted a decree on “Pension and Invalidity Rights of Persons Whose Active Military Service in the YPA Terminated Prior to 31 December 1991” (Uredba o ostvarivanju prava iz mirovinskog i invalidskog osiguranja osoba kojima je prestalo svojstvo aktivne vojne osobe u bivšoj JNA do 31. prosinca 1991.; hereinafter: “the Military Pensions Decree”). The Military Pensions Decree laid down conditions for recognition of the right to advance payments of pensions (akontacija) to former YPA military personnel, provided that they had terminated their military service prior to 31 December 1991, but had not obtained pension rights prior to that date, and that they met all the necessary conditions to be granted a pension under the Military Personnel Pension and Invalidity Insurance Act (see paragraph 8 above). The Military Pensions Decree set out three additional complementary conditions: (1) residence in Croatia, (2) Croatian nationality, and (3) that the person concerned had made himself available for service in the Croatian army prior to 31 December 1991 and was not suspected of an offence against Croatia. The Croatian Republic Workers’ Pension and Invalidity Insurance Fund (Republički fond mirovinskog i invalidskog osiguranja radnika Hrvatske; hereinafter “the Republic Workers’ Fund”) was assigned to make the necessary arrangements under this Decree.
11.  On the same day the Government of Croatia also enacted a decree on “Payment of Pensions to Former SFRY Republic Pension Beneficiaries” (Uredba o isplati mirovina korisnicima koji su mirovinu ostvarili u republikama bivše Socijalističke Federativne Republike Jugoslavije). Under that decree all residents of Croatia who had been granted pensions in other republics of the former SFRY, except Slovenia, which had at the time also dissolved its relations with the SFRY federal government, were entitled to payment of their pensions by Croatia. The Republic Workers’ Fund was ordered to pay pensions from the collected contributions which Croatia was not paying to pensioners residing in other republics of the former SFRY due to the ending of financial transfers.
12.  On 6 October 1993 the Croatian Parliament enacted the Yugoslav People’s Army Personnel Pensions Act (Zakon o ostvarivanju prava iz mirovnskog i invalidskog osigurnja pripadnika bivše JNA), which set aside the 1992 Decree (see paragraph 10 above) and part of the 1991 transitional legislation (see paragraph 9 above). Under this Act Croatia assumed responsibility for payment of YPA military pensions obtained prior to 8 October 1991, and for the granting of pensions to YPA military personnel whose service in Croatia had terminated prior to 31 December 1991.
13.  Former YPA military personnel who had obtained pension rights under the former SFRY pension regime prior to 8 October 1991 had the right to have their pension paid by Croatia if their pension from the former federal fund was no longer being paid. Two further conditions were laid down: residence in Croatia and that the person concerned was not being prosecuted for certain criminal offences against Croatia, listed in section 2 of the Act. The Republic Workers’ Fund was tasked with enforcement of the Act.
14.  The Act was set aside by the Pension Insurance Act (Zakon o mirovinskom osiguranju), which was enacted on 10 July 1998 and came into force on 1 January 1999. In the period relevant to this case it was amended several times (see paragraphs 50-53 below). The Pension Insurance Act regulated the compulsory pension insurance scheme on the basis of the principle of inter-generational solidarity (section 2 § 1). It established the Croatian Pension Fund (Hrvatski zavod za mirovinsko osiguranje), which was tasked with the management of pension affairs (section 6) thus replacing the previous Republic Workers’ Fund (section 187 §§ 1 and 3). Accordingly, the Croatian Pension Fund was tasked with the collection of pension contributions and payment of pensions and with the observance of obligations under international agreements on pensions (section 130). Under the Pension Insurance Act payment of pensions abroad was possible only under either an international agreement or a reciprocal agreement (section 88).
15.  The Pension Insurance Act also provided that funds for payment of pensions to YPA military pensioners should be secured in the State’s budget, and that the necessary contributions should be paid to the Croatian Pension Fund on a monthly basis (section 152 § 1). For all Croatian nationals the Pension Insurance Act recognised pensionable years of employment in the period prior to 8 October 1991 under the Military Personnel Pension and Invalidity Insurance Act (see paragraphs 8 and 9 above) as pensionable years of employment (section 186).
16.  By an amendment of 29 November 2001 the pensions of, inter alia, YPA military pensioners were reduced and the Croatian Pension Fund was ordered to set the amended levels of their pensions.
17.  On 15 September 1997 Croatia and the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (later Serbia and Montenegro) signed a Social Insurance Treaty (Ugovor o socijalnom osiguranju), hereinafter “the Social Insurance Treaty”), which came into force on 1 May 2003. The Social Insurance Treaty listed the relevant domestic legislation to which it was applicable, namely health insurance and health protection legislation; pension and invalidity insurance legislation; legislation on work-related accidents and work-related illnesses; and unemployment benefits. It was applicable to all persons in the two countries who had rights and duties under the relevant domestic legislation. The right to payment of a pension abroad existed irrespective of the place of residence of the pension beneficiaries within one of the contracting States. The Republic Workers’ Fund was designated the competent liaison authority in Croatia concerning all pension issues (see paragraph 54 below).
18.  According to the Government, after the dissolution of the former SFRY, Serbia maintained a dual pension system for civilian and military pensioners, and stopped paying YPA military pensions to pensioners residing in Croatia. Only in January 2012 was a pension reform carried out in Serbia which had the effect of integrating the military pension fund into the civilian pension and invalidity insurance fund. On an unspecified date the Serbian authorities informed the Croatian pension authorities of this change. They also indicated that they would pay what formerly were military pensions to pensioners residing abroad under the relevant treaties on social insurance or reciprocal agreements.
19.  On 29 June 2001 the republics of the former SFRY signed the Agreement on Succession Issues (Ugovor o pitanjima sukcesije, hereinafter “the Succession Agreement”), which came into force on 2 June 2004 (see paragraph 55 below).
20.  Annexe E to the Succession Agreement dealt with pensions. It was based on the principle of acquired rights, in that rights acquired under one system must be acknowledged and respected in another. Article 1 established the said principle in respect of the pension rights acquired under the former republics’ pension regime (see paragraph 7 above), while Article 2 dealt with military pensions under the former federal regime (see paragraph 8 above). The latter provision stipulated that the State which had recognised the right to payment of the pensions to former SFRY military personnel should continue to pay pensions to all its nationals, irrespective of their place of residence. In cases where a person was a national of more than one republic of the former SFRY, the pension should be paid by the State where that person resided. This pension payment regime differed from the regime established for civilian pensions under Article 1 of Annexe E to the Succession Agreement, which provided that the State which had recognised the pension rights and which paid the pensions should continue with the payments entirely irrespective of the nationality or place of residence of the pension beneficiaries.
21.  The applicant served as a military officer in the YPA between 1941 and 1979, when he retired. On 16 May 1979 the SFRY federal pension fund for retired YPA employees authorised the applicant’s entitlement to a military pension. At that time the applicant was residing in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
22.  On 19 June 1992 the applicant requested the Dubrovnik office of the Republic Workers’ Fund (Republički fond mirovinskog i invalidskog osiguranja radnika Hrvatske, Područna služba u Dubrovniku) to recognise his entitlement to a military pension under the new Croatian legislation. The applicant substantiated his request by submitting evidence of his place of residence in Croatia at an address in Dubrovnik, evidence of Croatian citizenship, and a document from the Dubrovnik Municipal Court (Općinski sud u Dubrovniku), confirming that no criminal proceedings against him had been instituted.
23.  On 7 July 1992 the Dubrovnik Office of the Republic Workers’ Fund recognised the applicant’s entitlement to a military pension, as established under the former SFRY Military Personnel Pension and Invalidity Insurance Act (see paragraph 47 below). It found that the applicant had Croatian citizenship and a place of residence in Croatia, and that the competent domestic authorities had not instituted criminal proceedings against the applicant for any offence against Croatia.
24.  On 12 December 1992, acting ex officio, the Dubrovnik Office of the Republic Workers’ Fund established the amount of the applicant’s pension under the Military Pensions Decree. The pension was to be paid to the applicant as long as the necessary requirements existed.
25.  On 6 May 1994 the Military Social Insurance Fund of the then Federal Yugoslav Republic Army in Belgrade, Serbia, ordered that payment of the applicant’s military pension should be stopped, on the grounds that they had been informed by the Croatian authorities that the applicant had been granted a pension in Croatia.
26.  According to the applicant, in October 1998 he visited his son in Belgrade, Serbia, and decided to stay with his son for a longer period. He continued to receive payments of his pension through a representative in Dubrovnik.
27.  On 9 June 2003 the applicant informed the Dubrovnik office of the Croatian Pension Fund (Područna služba u Dubrovniku Hrvatskog zavoda za mirovinsko osiguranje) that he had changed his place of residence to Belgrade, Serbia, and requested that his pension be paid to his new address. He submitted evidence of residence in Belgrade and details of his bank account in Serbia.
28.  On 30 September 2003 the Croatian Pension Fund stopped payment of the applicant’s pension. It found that the Social Insurance Treaty with Serbia did not cover YPA military pensions, and that there was no reciprocal agreement with Serbia in that respect, as required under the relevant domestic law, for the payment of pensions abroad. Pension payments were stopped with effect from 1 October 2003.
29.  On 16 December 2003 the applicant lodged an appeal with the Appeal Council of the Executive Council of the Croatian Pension Fund (Žalbeno vijeće Upravnog vijeća Hrvatskog zavoda za mirovinsko osiguranje) arguing that there was no legal ground for his pension to be stopped. He contended that when his pension rights had been recognised under the Military Pensions Decree he had obtained the right to receive the pension from the Republic Workers’ Fund, and that his status was therefore equal to that of other old-age pensioners. He also complained that he had not been able to obtain his pension in Serbia, since payment of his pension there had been stopped on the grounds that his entitlement to a pension had been recognised in Croatia. Finally, the applicant explained that the pension which had been stopped was his only income.
30.  On 17 March 2004 the applicant lodged an administrative action in the Administrative Court (Upravni sud Republike Hrvatske) complaining that the Croatian Pension Fund had failed to decide on his appeal against the first-instance decision of the Dubrovnik office of the Croatian Pension Fund.
31.  In his administrative action the applicant reiterated that by recognising his entitlement to a pension under the Military Pensions Decree he had the same status as all other pensioners in Croatia who had been receiving pensions from the Croatian Pension Fund. He explained that he had submitted his request for payment of the pension to Serbia under the Social Insurance Treaty and that the stopping of his pension had been unlawful. The applicant also complained that he and his wife had no other financial means now that his pension had been discontinued.
32.  The Administrative Court invited the applicant to substantiate his action further on 18 March 2004. The applicant complied with this request, and submitted a supplemented administrative action on 3 September 2004, reiterating his previous arguments.
33.  On 5 October 2004 the applicant changed his place of residence to his old address in Dubrovnik and the following day he informed the Dubrovnik Office of the Croatian Pension Fund, asking for payment of his pension to be resumed. The applicant also pointed out that the Croatian Pension Fund had never decided on his appeal against the decision to stop the payment of his pension.
34.  The Appeal Council of the Executive Council of the Croatian Pension Fund dismissed the applicant’s appeal against the first-instance decision of the Dubrovnik Office of the Croatian Pension Fund as ill-founded on 24 November 2004, endorsing the reasoning of the first-instance decision.
35.  On 10 January 2005 the Dubrovnik office of the Croatian Pension Fund resumed payment of the applicant’s pension. It found that the applicant had changed his place of residence to Croatia, and that all other requirements under the relevant domestic law had been met. The payment of the applicant’s pension was to be resumed with effect from 1 November 2004.
36.  On 12 April 2006 the Administrative Court invited the applicant to explain whether he wanted to pursue his administrative action of 17 March 2004, since the Appeal Council of the Executive Council of the Croatian Pension Fund had decided on his appeal in the meantime.
37.  On 13 November 2006 the applicant informed the Administrative Court that he wanted to pursue his administrative action. Moreover, he indicated that he wanted to extend it to the second-instance decision of the Appeal Council of the Executive Council of the Croatian Pension Fund of 24 November 2004. The applicant again argued that the change of his place of residence had not warranted in any respect, legal or factual, stopping the payment of his pension, and that therefore depriving him of his pension for the period between 1 October 2003 and 31 October 2004 had been unlawful.
38.  On 8 March 2007 the Administrative Court dismissed the applicant’s administrative action as ill-founded. The relevant part of the decision reads:
“The reasoning of the impugned decision, and of the first-instance decision, is based on the fact that the plaintiff’s request for payment of the recognised military pension which he had obtained as a YPA employee prior to 8 October 1991 had been refused, because he had a place of residence in Serbia ... and the Social Insurance Treaty between the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia did not cover military pensions of former YPA military personnel obtained through the military [pension] fund prior to 8 October 1991. Between the Republic of Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro there is no reciprocal agreement in payment of military pensions, so the [plaintiff’s] pension cannot be paid in Serbia ...
In view of what is discernible from the case file this court finds that there has been no breach of law to the detriment of the plaintiff.
In this specific case the reasons adduced by the respondent body and the first-instance body are valid. This court finds that it was correctly held by the respondent body that it was not possible for military pensions to be paid abroad ... since it was impossible under either the Treaty or Croatian pension legislation. Payment of a pension abroad is possible under an international treaty or on the basis of a reciprocal agreement, which is not the situation in the present case.”
39.  On 11 May 2007 the applicant lodged a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Court (Ustavni sud Republike Hrvatske). He contended that there had been no legal ground for stopping payment of thirteen of his pension instalments, and that his change of place of residence should not have had any adverse effects on his pension rights. In his view this had created an inequality before the law.
40.  The applicant supplemented his constitutional complaint on 5 June 2007, reiterating his previous arguments.
41.  On 11 March 2010 the Constitutional Court declared the applicant’s constitutional complaint inadmissible as manifestly ill-founded. The decision of the Constitutional Court was served on the applicant on 21 May 2010.
42.  On 24 February 2012 the applicant informed the Dubrovnik office of the Croatian Pension Fund that he had changed his place of residence to Belgrade, and asked for the pension to be paid to him in Serbia.
43.  On 27 February 2012 the information submitted by the applicant was registered in the information system of the Croatian Pension Fund. Since March 2012 the applicant’s pension has been paid to him in Belgrade, Serbia.